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Freestyle/Freeskiing World Champs Team Named

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2013-03-04 08:43

Gus Kenworthy, at the FIS World Cup in Sochi, Russia, is set to compete at FIS World Champs in Norway. (Mark Epstein/USSA)

PARK CITY, UT (March 4) – Defending slopestyle World Champion Alex Schlopy (Park City, UT) heads up a strong roster of U.S. athletes named to compete at the 2013 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships, including both freestyle and freeskiing events. Olympic champion Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT) and 2009 World Champion Patrick Deneen (Cle Elum, WA) join current AFP halfpipe leaders Torin Yater-Wallace (Basalt, CO) and Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, CA), plus X Games champion David Wise (Reno, NV) in leading a team of 34 U.S. athletes named to the 2013 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships Team. The FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships take place March 5–10 in Voss and Oslo, Norway.

Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, CO) has been on a roll taking second at the halfpipe FIS World Cup in Sochi, Russia and winning the SFR slopestyle stop in Tignes, France.

Torin Yater-Wallace took second at X Games, second at the Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix and first at the FIS World Cup in Sochi, Russia.

Maddie Bowman (South Lake Tahoe, CA) recently won her first X Games gold medal as well as first place at both stops of the Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix at Copper Mountain and Park City Mountain Resort.

John Teller (Mammoth Lakes, CA) recently took his second World Cup victory at Megeve, France, Teller will be looking for redemption from his fifth place finish at Deer Valley World Championships in 2011.

Defending slopestyle World Champion Alex Schlopy (Park City, UT) will be on site looking for a repeat win.

The Wilson brothers (Butte, MT) have four podiums between them this season, two of which were career first wins.

Olympic Champion Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT) took a second and third place finish at the 2011 World Championships.

Kearney is the 2012-13 Freestyle Moguls World Cup leader.

Aerialist, Emily Cook (Belmont, MA) ended the World Cup season with a first place finish in the Ukraine and a second overall aerial ranking.

Rookie Dylan Walczyk (Breckenridge, CO) earned a spot on the World Championships team after only eight career World Cup starts.

The FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships take place March 5–10 in Voss, Norway.

QUOTESTorin Yater-WallaceI’ve had a great season so far and I am looking forward to hopefully continuing my success, this will be my fourth competition this year and I would like to finish my competition season strong. It would be great to help the U.S. out with quota spots for the Olympics and hopefully I will have the opportunity to make the Olympic team, these are all just steps towards Sochi.

Grete EliassenI am really excited to head back to Norway and compete in the World Champs. I grew up skiing in Norway, so it's going to be fun to go back and compete in Slopestyle there. I competed in a lot of Big Airs growing up there, but never a slopestyle event. It's fun to see how the sport has grown in such a short period of time.

John TellerIt’s been a long winter and I am hoping to continue to skiing well and get back on top of the podium. It’s a tough field and it can be anyone’s game, but I would like for it to be my game. I am glad that I have the opportunity to go to Norway and hope to make the U.S. proud.

Hannah KearneyI look forward to representing what is arguably the strongest U.S. Mogul Team in history. The only disappointment is that our entire team cannot compete due to each country's quota. Those of us who qualified have an obligation to ski well and appreciate the entire experience.

World Championships will be the first and only time the Olympic format will be tested before Sochi 2014, so it is a perfect opportunity for me and the other American athletes to prove that we are ready. Between single moguls and duals, the best-case scenario is four days of competing in a row. I believe that physical conditioning will play an important role at Worlds.

Heather McPhieI'm really excited to be on the World Championships team heading to Voss, Norway on March 1st! I really like the venue, and am looking forward to competing. My season has had its ups and downs in terms of results so far, but I am really excited about a lot of the things I am working on, and am psyched to have been on the podium three times so far this season. I feel like I am on a good path for reaching my goals heading into World Championships and Sochi.